Here's a bit of an odd question. I'm asking those ppl who played Elder Scrolls games either as pure mage's or with a heavy reliance on magic.

In Oblivion I played mostly as a warrior, dabbled in a little bit of magic, but not too much because I never gained enough majika.

For Skyrim, I think I want to be an archer, that is also strong with magic and one handed blade.

However, after watching the Skyrim demos a couple hundred times and seeing use of the Frenzy spell, hearing about raising zombies, etc., I'm thinking of putting more emphasis on magic....

So, what I'm asking is, for those of you went deep with magic in Oblivion, why did you choose to play that way? What were your favorite spells? What cool things did you do with them? Any unexpected results? What are your expectations for Skyrim? Anything else I should know or consider?

(When answering, please keep in mind that I'm largely inexperienced with magic (beyond simple destruction), and for many spells I may not know exactly what they do.)

THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT!!!

Well in oblivion i choose to be a mage because i could do anything with magic that all the other classes could do with there skills and still be better at it. Need to open a lock? threes a spell for that. Invisibility? yep that to. Breath underwater? you guessed it. and to top it off you could do things with magic that the other classes couldn't do with there skills. Like summon a full set of deadric armor+ claymore from thin air without any wieght or instantly raise your relationship with shopkeepers and mercantile to always get the best deal. Mages in oblivion could pretty much do whatever they wanted with no down side.

Because the magic system looks to be the most exhilarating in TES history. For the first time in years I'll play a pure Wizard because of this.

Umm to be a human flame thrower! (in Skyrim that is)

Summoning things to fight with you was great. Light spells for caves. Detect life for when things try to invis or to see through walls. Damage shields.

One of the posters said it best the pure mage could do anything they wanted. Plus with spell making you could make up your own craziness. I guess that doesn't apply to Skyrim but it was on of the big selling points for me in Oblivion and MW.

Dual casting magic > *

this

plus the skyrim magic system looks so fun also it's partly because you really get a sense of power from it

I'm definatly making a full on Mage in skyrim. Probably my second playthrough, gandalf style

I used to be the same OP its only been since sometime this year that I've gone Magic over melee.
In most RPGs I found playing a mage difficult and complicated
In Morrowind I didnt like magic with the fail chance and having to ready it...but that was way back when I was young and more intent on playing than messing around.
In Oblivion I liked how simple and easy it was to use magic.
In Dragon Age Origins playing a warrior or rogue was more fun than a mage.
In Dragon Age 2 I LOVED playing a mage.
And now with skyrim I like how you now have to ready magic like in morrowind while being simple and easy to use.....plus it looks AWESOME!!!.....from what Ive seen so far.

Aww man. I was really following you here, until I got to the part with "Dragon Age 2" and "loved" in the same sentence

Magic looks spectacular and has horsepower behind it.

what? it was like the only part it got right IMO, also am I not allowed to like something?

You be a mage because..you want to be a mage? Because that's the playstyle you want? :shrug:

IRL you can hit someone with a big stick, or sneak around at night. You can't cast spells, though. That's enough reason right there to play a mage in a game.

Instantly removing Nord Women's clothes with the tip of my fingers that's why.

But you can do that with pick pocketing as well!

if you have the right spells you can control virtually every aspect of battle. enemy attacking you? paralyze him. enemy hitting you to hard? damage your opponents strength. ever wonder what a flaming bosmer looks like? light one on fire and find out!

With a warrior you know what you get, you can see the blade, and the muscles that serve it; you know how this guy has survived the harsh Skyrim mountains. With a mage however, I just love the whole concept of mages, their unpredictable ability is something that would strike fear into the hearts of men and dragons alike. All you see is a person in a robe, how has this person survived in this harsh land you think to yourself, endless possibilities enter your mind and your palms begin to sweat, before you know it the mage is invisible and you're looking up at a hideous beast that has been dragged up from the depths of hell. As you battle the beast, all manner of elements start hitting you from distance, you don't stand a chance.

Needless to say I was a pure mage atronach in Oblivion. I use to charge my mana by standing in front of the guy who casts spells at the target in the Arcane University.

There are so many different options with magic instead of just the hacking and slashing as a warrior. I was never very good at that so probably never explored it enough but I did try and still use sword and dagger and shield. There's a lot to learn with the magic skills and I use Conjuration and Alteration the most. Last night I traveled around unarmed. When attacked, I would punch but I also tried a Weakness to Fire combo with a Fire spell. I'd never done it before and was very happy with how it turned out. What I'm saying is that there's lots to explore there. Having enough Magicka is key too so I'll be trying to gain as much as possible early on in Skyrim.

:tes:

I find mages much more versatile than rogues/warriors, especially in TES. You can sort of do everything.

They are usually more fun to roleplay as well.

Because Mages are dope. Im thinkin about bein a mage that only uses bound weapons.

Whoa, no no no. I am not one of those people. You are allowed to like whatever you like. I was merely stating I was agreeing with you up til that point. I hate DA2. Although yes, there were some decent things about it..but overall they ruined that game and since DA:O is one of my all time favs..I was really disappointed.

I played a mage in it as well..and it was visceral and powerful. Although didn't feel right for me, to what a mage should be.

Still, I didn't mean anything bad towards you at all, to each his own

On topic, I intend to play a mage in Skyrim, just because I enjoy it. Can't really say why, just enjoy that playstyle. Though curious if it is going to be practical to be a caster only in this game.

Mages have many advantages over other classes spell can make up for brawn and strength we dont have to fight alone either we can summon other creatures with a spell and each have their own advantages and with the new magic system they have it makes being a mage even better with frost fire and shock having a unique perk to each frost*slows down enemy and drain stamina great for dealing with the warrior type enemy so they can attack as much or if you just want to run away from an enemy fire*does great damage to your enemy if your enemy is at that last bit of health or your other attacks arent doing enough damage use fire with helps get down their health much quick and shock* drain magicka great if you end up facing another magic user just drain their magicka and go in for the kill ive always been the pure mage type ask me any question if you still want to know more be happy to help :thumbsup:

ah lol. Ive never played a full mage, always what I call a Magicka Assassin or Shadow Step a mix of Mage and Assassin.

off-topic: In DA2 i found the melee classes dull and boring.....dunno why...they just lulled me to sleep.

i loved how they did the staffs in DA2 i wish they did that in TEL i love them both but the staffs in DA felt a bit more magicy

Stop hating on DA2 :brokencomputer: